The Heart Behind B.I.O.N.I.C. Team Posters
Why do we encourage poster outreaches as a part of our B.I.O.N.I.C. Teams to other schools/communities that experience tragedy? Sandy Austin got the idea when she was one of the most involved school counselors with the aftermath of the tragedy at Columbine High School. Seventeen years earlier, she had student taught at Columbine under one of her favorite teachers growing up. During that time she also coached with Dave Sanders – the teacher who was killed in the shooting.
All those years later during the week after their tragedy, Sandy was released from my school to help in the Columbine area schools as they opened up. She also volunteered in the area hundreds of hours in the evenings, weekends, and during the summer since the community had such a special place in her heart.
That summer, one day after counseling a Columbine student, Sandy and the student walked into the cafeteria at Ken Caryl Middle School to say good-bye until the next time. They saw four posters that had just been put up from other schools letting Columbine know they were thinking of them. One was on white butcher paper about 10-feet long with writing in blue pain. It was from an elementary school in Japan. The kids had drawn around their hands and wrote their names inside on the palm of their hands. Sandy asked the Columbine student what the posters meant to her. Tears welled up in her eyes.
The student said, “We really appreciate all that the adults are doing for us with giving us pizza and donations and all.” Pointing at the poster, she continued, “But these are what mean the most. Knowing kids all over the world are thinking of us and pulling for us is what gives us the courage and strength to carry on!” She wiped the tear away that was rolling down her cheek.
That’s why we do the posters. The very first poster that was sent from Green Mountain High School was to a nearby school where there had been a stabbing of a student who died. The B.I.O.N.I.C. Team spent three days with the poster in the cafeteria before school, at lunch, and after school trying to get signatures of students and staff. Sandy drove to that school with two leaders to deliver the poster. Driving away from the school, Sandy asked the leaders how it was for them?
One of them said, “Ms. Austin, I was kinda scared. They were glaring at us, so I didn’t look at them because I didn’t want them to think I was challenging them. Ms. Austin, maybe through our B.I.O.N.I.C. Team, we can prevent new students at our school from not feeling welcome at GM.” That is one reason why we have B.I.O.N.I.C. Teams.
Our posters even impact school Principals! There was a shooting at Northern Illinois University a few years ago. Sandy checked to find out which school was closest to NIU because she knew they would be impacted too. In talking with the DeKalb High School secretary, Ms. Austin was told that several parents of their students taught at NIU, and many students – after graduating – continued at NIU for their college education. So, DeKalb High was highly impacted by the NIU shooting. Sandy left a message for the DeKalb Principal explaining the poster that was going to be sent to them.
Three days later Sandy got a message from the Principal, saying, “Sandy, this is the Lindsay at DeKalb. I have started to leave a message three times and had to stop each time because I started crying. I hope I can get through this one. It means more than you realize that your B.I.O.N.I.C. Team wants to reach out to us 1,800 miles away to support us during this difficult time. We will post it in our cafeteria for everyone to see and read. What really touches my heart, though,” she took a big breath fighting back the tears, “is that I grew up in Colorado.” She took another big breath, “and your poster will be like a big bear hug from my home state during this most difficult time in my life as a Principal! How can I ever thank you?” That brought tears to Sandy’s eyes too!
The B.I.O.N.I.C. Team posters are making a difference in schools around the world. Next Tuesday we will share some of those stories…